Real Truth Facts about TVI Express: tviexpress.com is not legal around the world, Tarun Trikha arrested for fraud

Updated on May 13, 2013

Introduction

TVI Express ( tviexpress.com ), which also calls itself "Travel Ventures International", came out of nowhere in 2009, and after one year claims over 600,000 members around the world. It claims to have offices in England (UK), Cyprus, and India. It also claims to have made thousands of people richer. Here you will learn the real truth behind TVI Express, all supported by facts that YOU can verify.

These are the things TVI Express and your recruiter would NEVER tell you. In fact, they will most likely tell you NOT to look at "negativity news", or come up with stupid excuses or explanations regarding much of the information revealed here. They may even tell you that all this is simply irrelevant. That is a sign that your upline has been brainwashed into the MLM Borg. Objections are irrelevant. You will be assimilated. (Sorry, that's a Star Trek reference)

I am not a TVI Express member. I am NOT going to recruit you for anything. (IMHO, If you see a hub presenting little or no useful information, and only gives you a recruiting link, you should vote down the hub and flag it as spam.)

I have been through many MLMs before. I have been in Amway, NuSkin, Market America, Excel Communications, and others. I did not enjoy it much, but I have learned a lot, and about how MLM is supposed to work. Based on my experience, TVI Express is a scam, but you can read the evidence I present, check them, and make up your own mind.

Just where is TVI Express?

On TVI Express's "about us" webpage, it proudly claims it is based in
London, UK.

"Travel Ventures International
is a leading multinational conglomerate headquartered in London, United
Kingdom."--http://www.tviexpress.com/aboutus.php

Yet on the bottom of
that very page, the address listed is in Cyprus, which is a little
island off TURKEY, and it's actually on the border between Middle East and Europe. In fact, one third of the island of Cyprus is Turkish! (the other two thirds are Greek). However, TVI Express uses a London UK phone
number (country code 44).

At least three other companies share the same exact
address
in Cyprus:

FxCompany, a Forex trader -- http://www.fxcompany.net/contacts/

AceKing,
an online casino -- (link removed as per Hubpage terms of use, you can find it yourself in Google, look under "About us" link)

BCAT,
a writing / web design firm -- https://bcatservices.com/contact

By exact same address, I mean exactly that: no separate room number, suite number, for floor number. EXACT SAME ADDRESS. What are the chances of multiple companies sharing exact same physical address?

The Cyprus address is clearly a legal pretense. It is a "virtual office".

Furthermore, if you search in Companieshouse.gov.uk, where every single company in
UK is required to register by law, you will NOT find "TVI Express" or
"Travel Ventures" or anything of that sort. Go search for it yourself. (There is a "TVI Services", but that's in Surrey, not London.)

At the bottom of their "Terms of Use", it says very
clearly:

"All disputes are governed by
Cyprus and Indian Laws".
--http://www.tviexpress.com/termsofuse.php

Why would it be headquartered in London if it is NOT subject to UK law? Can they be "headquartered" in the UK but NOT registered as a company in UK? Why would it say things to make you think that it is?

TVI Express gave a new address for their UK office on their website. What they do NOT tell you is that it is actually 16 miles from London, according to Google Maps. (see analysis here ) So it is NOT in London. Yet they still claim to be "headquartered in London".

Consider the implication: if a company cannot even tell you the truth about where it is based how can the company be legitimate?

No background, no executive names, nothing

If you use Google news search, and use keywords TVI EXPRESS
NEWS, you will find nothing about its "amazing growth" or "changing lives". TVI Express was NOT covered by ANY sort of mainstream
media at all. Press releases do not count, as they are not checked for accuracy of content. At best, you'll get some filler pieces in some tiny local papers in Indonesia.

The conclusion is inescapable: NOT
a single legitimate news source, in the
entire world indexed by Google, in the myriad of languages, wrote a
single POSITIVE story on TVI Express (except for some "Citizen Reporter" in Indonesia, where they basically printed whatever TVI Express distributor told them to put in).

What's more, there is absolutely no hint ANYWHERE about who is running
TVI Express. When you invest in a company, you'd want to know who is running it, does s/he have a good
track record of running profitable companies, and so on. And there's
nothing, absolutely nothing about TVI Express's management team on their
website. No name, no picture, no nationality, not even the number of
officers they have in the company.

You don't even know who the owners of TVI Express are. All you got is a statement that it is supposedly owned by a "prestigious investment group". As the company has lied about being based in London, UK, anything the company states is suspect.

Even the website itself, TVIExpress.com, have domain privacy turned on,
so it shows no information on who owns the domain, which is rather strange for a company allegedly based in UK. Remember, they are NOT registered as a company in UK!

If you buy into this "opportunity", just to WHO are you
handing your money? And if they are indeed benefiting so many people, why are all the news negative? Why is TVI Express being investigated as a pyramids scheme?

Wikipedia illustration of 8-ball scheme

Wikipedia illustration of 8-ball pyramid scheme

TVI Express Board Picture

TVI Express Board Geaneology

Looks like a pyramid, smells like a pyramid...

TVI
Express uses "a revolving matrix" as a part of its compensation package,
which looks exactly like the "airplane game" or "8-ball scam" variation
of the pyramid scheme. In fact, it is already under investigation in Australia and Hungary as pyramid scheme. Australian authorities already gotten a court injunction against three TVI Express members in the area, ordering them to stop promoting and recruiting, or get hit with contempt of court.

It
is easier to illustrate the 8-ball scam or the airplane game with a picture from
Wikipedia. Let's
say you are the blue dot. You need to recruit enough people to fill the
red dots (well, you recruit the "co-pilots", and they can recruit the
crew, who then recruit the passengers, just two each...), and you get
paid and get out of the game, by taking money from all the people who
have already paid. Got that?

So
what does the TVI Express "matrix" look like? Look above for a picture from a
recruiter website

The 1-2-4-8
structure is unmistakable. The "leader" gets paid when he filled all the
positions below him, and he can only fill the position by recruiting
more people.

What's
more, you need to go through TWO of these boards: a traveler board, and
an express board, to score your big pay out: $10000.

So each of them paid $250 or whatever... The company would have pocketed over $60000 (do your own math) before paying out your $10000. Not much of a payout, is it?

When confronted with the resemblance, TVI Express said... NOTHING. There is no information on TVI Express website explaining why it is NOT a pyramid scheme.

What they also do NOT tell you is they fit the definition of pyramid scheme in the European Union, as well as American Federal Bureau of Investigations, better known as the FBI.

Pyramid schemes,
also referred to as franchise fraud,
or chain referral schemes, are marketing and investment frauds in which an individual is
offered a distributorship or franchise to market a particular product.
The real profit is earned, not by the sale of the product, but by the
sale of new distributorships. Emphasis on selling franchises rather
than the product eventually leads to a point where the supply of
potential investors is exhausted and the pyramid collapses. At the
heart of each pyramid scheme there is typically a representation that
new participants can recoup their original investments by inducing two
or more prospects to make the same investment. Promoters fail to tell
prospective participants that this is mathematically impossible for
everyone to do, since some participants drop out, while others recoup
their original investments and then drop out.

You are told by TVI Express to sell nothing, but to recruit at least two people. How is that NOT a pyramid scheme based on the definition given?

Pyramid schemes
“Establishing, operating or promoting a pyramid promotional scheme where
a consumer gives consideration for the opportunity to receive
compensation that is derived primarily from the introduction of other
consumers into the scheme rather than from the sale or consumption of
products.”

You are paid by introducing others into TVI Express, right? It's called "board payout". The TVI Express says you need to sell nothing, so you *are* paid primarily from recruiting. That means it is a pyramid scheme based on the EU definition.

Does TVI Express address this concern? Not at all. Are you worried? You should be.

What does a distributor really distribute?

TVI Express claims to be a business opportunity. It refers to members
as "distributors". But in its own FAQ, it states clearly "you don't
need to sell any products".

"This [TVI Express] is a real opportunity and a real
Business company with REAL PEOPLE WORLDWIDE making fantastic monthly
incomes that will come to them month-after-month, year-after-year."-- cited from
http://www.tviexpress.com (look near the bottom)

3. Do I
need to sell any products?

No. You don’t need to sell any
products...

-- cited from
http://www.tviexpress.com/faq.php#2

"Become a TVI Express Distributor"-- http://www.tviexpress.com , look at the bottom right corner

So if you don't sell any products, but you are a distributor,
what exactly are you distributing? And what do you get for distributing
it?

Once you read through their FAQ, it becomes clear: the FAQ states that you have to recruit two people, and teach them each to recruit two more people, in order "make money while you sleep".

In a real network marketing organization, you have to teach your downline to sell things. In a pseudo-network marketing scam, you only have to recruit, and TVI Express only wants you to recruit. It is a scam.

Some TVI
Express recruiters have switched tacts and instead claim that TVI
Express is a giant "travel club" that you buy in with a one-time fee of
$250. Ask them WHY does the TVI Express website says the members are
distributors, and what are they distributing? (besides the opportunity
itself, which is recruiting?) And if they claim it is a travel club, ask them WHICH TRAVEL CLUB IN THE WORLD REQUIRES its members to RECRUIT MORE PEOPLE, and pays huge bonuses for doing so? And WHERE in TVI Express website or presentation claim it is a "club"?

TVI Express claim 5-star accommodation

You be the judge... Which is the original, with more detailed design, and which is the degraded copy?

This 7-day 6-night thing... what is it really?

One of the biggest draws of TVI Express is you supposedly get a certificate for 7-day 6-night accommodations at a 5-star hotel, and return plane tickets for that $250 you pay initially.

What you actually get is an e-mail sent to you with a special code, with the border design blatantly stolen from a different website, also doing these "travel certificates". Arousing even more suspicion, TVI Express itself has downgraded its own claims. Its website now says

6 Nights/7 Days Vacation in a 3-5 Star Property *

Free flight ticket offer*

Yet there is NO MENTION of this downgrade on their website.

Those who have actually joined reported that all you got is an e-certificate e-mailed to you that contains a redemption code. On it, I quote:

"This certificate is valid for a registration validation form offering 6nights and 7days accommodations for two, in a three to five star property across the globe."

So it's not necessarily a 5-star property, but anywhere between a 3-star and a 5-star. And there is no mention of the return plane ticket.

Furthermore, even the border on the certificate itself was blatantly stolen from another website. They have the exact dimensions, and the exact same designs. The only thing different is the color. (See pictorial analysis)

What's more, TVI Express's own announcement states that 11 5-star properties are now available to visit. What the announcement did not say, but is obviously from reading the list itself: they are ALL IN INDIA.

A further announcement have pushed back the redemption yet again to March 1, 2010, and yet again, to an undetermined date! Then TVI Express DELETED the announcement of the second delay, which made it appear as if the redemption was active on March 1, 2010!

What's worse, booking portal only came only June 9th, 2010. So the original announcement was a lie as well. Not only did they lie in March, they compounded the lie by deleting the outage announcement.

The announcement that mentioned 11 hotels also says that "hundreds" have enjoyed these properties. ( http://www.tviexpress.com/announcement1.php?id=52 ) With 600000 alleged members, and only hundreds have enjoyed these properties. Later statements revised that to "thousands", but with alleged 1 million members, that's a redemption rate of less than 1%. That's not a product at all.

It's clear that this 7-day 6-night thing is clearly NOT what you think it is.

Then the shocker: in June 2010 TVI Express announced that it will cost you extra $150 to redeem the certificate. Defenders of TVI Express insist that TVI Express have always claimed that 'tax and processing fee' can be charged, but there is no such language on the certificate itself.

If TVI Express can "shrink" its own promise retroactively, what else can they do to you later? Why did they delete their own announcement that says the engine will be down for more time? Will they EVER open a 5-star property for booking in YOUR area that you can go to? And what exactly DID you get for that $250 that you paid initially?

Poll: Is TVI Express a scam?

Do you think TVI Express is a scam?

In Conclusion...

The collection of above information are just a sample of things TVI Express and their members would NEVER tell you. These are not simply negative views about network marketing, but specific problems about the way TVI Express operate.

TVI Express has thus far refused to address ANY of the questions raised. Some TVI Express members have addressed these questions by using logical fallacies and weasel words. In short, they lied for themselves and TVI Express. TVI Express is also cheered by some "marketing coaches" who happily cheer people to join TVI Express with some weasel reviews, just for a chance to sell some marketing techniques (probably of dubious value).

It is my opinion that TVI Express is a scam of global proportions, and any one who joined had been scammed. However, you need to make up your own mind. Would your TVI Express recruiter answer any of these questions? Or will they just dismiss it as "sour grapes" that you should just ignore? Why?

More TVI Express secrets exposed

The Real TVI Express FAQ: Was TVIExpress.com declare...Do you have questions regarding TVI Express that were never answered? Who owns TVI Express? Did Warren Buffet invest in TVI Express? How much do you really get paid by TVI Express? What does TVI Express really sell? Is TVI Express legal? Find out her

TVI Express Complaints -- CategorizedComplaints about an outfit called "TVI Express", also known as "Travel Ventures International", that claim to be headquartered in London, UK? You came to the right place. What have people said about TVI Express that you should know?

More by this Author

Why do people fall for scams and once in, stay in? I'll show you what cause people to be vulnerable, 3+1 stages of scam, how to spot scam and the crap info they spread, and 3 simple steps to avoid scams.

Comments 57 comments

As a former member of TVI Express, all my upline became disgruntled when top management people here in the USA tried to get in contact with the owners/founders of this company, only to be put off every time. Finally after some deep digging, and further investigation they were able to find out that a Mr. Tyroon from India is the actual owner of this company, along with some other Indian name. Mr. Tyroon had always stated that he was part of the advisory board for TVI Express. Why would be lie? Why would he cover up the fact that he started this company? Maybe because it's all a scam, and it's not the first time that he's done this type of thing. Keep your money in your wallet until you have found something legitimate to invest in.

Alexis, you will need to post in English to get the comment approved. Hubpages only allows English. I am going to reply in English as well. I can tell you are posting from Florida (yes, I know a few tricks).

We are NOT bashing the entire MLM industry, just this one scam called TVI Express that is PRETENDING to be a MLM. The only thing it is really marketing is itself. Any travel they sell is purely incidental.

Your comparison of not knowing owner of TVI Express vs. not knowing owner of a bank is NOT a good comparison. You go into a bank not needing to know who runs the bank, because 1) it is very easy to find out, because it is PUBLIC information 2) there are a LOT of laws and regulations controlling how a bank operates. Neither of which is true for TVI Express.

Sure there are people making money from MLM, but if you join a sinking ship such as TVI Express, no amount of positive thinking can prevent the ship from sinking. You can deny the ship is sinking, but that will not prevent you from drowning when it finally does sink.

In the future I will write a hub on how Pseudo-MLM scam victims react to information that tell them they've been victimized. They generally fall into two camps: they deny the truth, and kept telling themselves "I must think positive thoughts, and ignore all negative information", or they instead do "I must make my money back, by dragging more people into it".

ucantstoptvi 6 years ago

hey Hubs,

you are full of it. all i know is tvi express is booming and you can't stop it. i have people that are making $10's of thousands of dollars following the simplest steps. Hubs, i think you should join in too. you asked what is tvi express selling? the idea is to eliminate any selling which causes many of those home-base business to end up down the drain. do u think people want to put up with the hassle of stocking/selling things? tvi express members only helps the company expends it's market sharing, and we get unbelievable commissions for doing just that. do u think companies like disney world, hertz, marriot, klm, sheraton, and many many more would have partnered with this company if it wasn't a legitimate company? c'mon dude!

kschang 6 years ago from San Francisco, CA, USA Author

*sigh* You are starring truth in the eye and you don't see it. Let's analyze what you wrote:

1) "i have people that are making $10's of thousands of dollars following the simplest steps." So you are making money, and you want to tell me it's legit because it is making money? Sorry, but one does NOT follow the other. Plenty of money-making enterprises that are illegal.

2) "tvi express members only helps the company expends it's market sharing, and we get unbelievable commissions for doing just that" So you admit that TVI Express has NOTHING to sell except itself, and all you are doing is recruiting and getting paid for it. Why is that NOT a Ponzi or pyramid scheme?

3) "disney world, hertz, marriot, klm, sheraton, and many many more would have partnered with this company if it wasn't legitimate?" And you based this on what? TVI Express announcements? Or just the word from your upline, who knows nothing? Why don't you read some actual NEWS intead?

You got no proof on your side, only insults. I have real newspaper articles and such backing my side of the story. You are the one full of it.

betastar 6 years ago

I joined TVI in early Nov. 2009. I was interested in the "free week". I did not recruit anyone (thank goodness) as I was suspicious after being put off again and again on the "free weeks vacation". I know people who have bought in multiple positions (which is not the way to do MLM) In the new company I am with ex TVI people tried to buy into 20+ positions and were refused. We are an honest company.

kschang 6 years ago from San Francisco, CA, USA Author

Glad to hear that you managed to break free. That free vacation offer sure sucked in a lot of people, didn't it?

sharif rahman 6 years ago

i want to know about the board.how its play?

kschang 6 years ago from San Francisco, CA, USA Author

Go to TVIexpress.com and see for yourself. However, you'll need to find a "sponsor" distributor to join. In other words, you'll be paying him and TVI Express for hopes of earning some money (but it's in eWallet, not real money). I'm sure you can find lots of people online who's willing to take your $250+ fees...

mathews 5 years ago

u son of abitch

kschang 5 years ago from San Francisco, CA, USA Author

@mathews (from India) -- your comment is denied due to lack of politeness. Thank you for demonstrating your potty mouth and lack of substance between your ears. Have a nice day.

Curt 5 years ago

Somethings is better done than just pure speculations, the comments you've said are very enticing if you can break a company, I mean any company I think you can, that is your talent. I have nothing against you, I am a business man and I have made a lot in investment, I invest big money and gained little, well that's normal, but when I heard about TVI, I immediately entered, So now I have my capital plus the incentive, meaning I invested little but gained more, thats what I call business right?... Its just my opinion and experience. So with anyone reading this page If you believe him you'll gained and lost nothing, but if you try TVI you'll gain something or lose something somply the rules of business... my opinion.

kschang 5 years ago from San Francisco, CA, USA Author

@Curt -- the facts, that TVI Express is accused of fraud in a dozen countries, speaks far louder than your opinions. If you choose to call a scam "a business", you may as well join the Tong, Triad, Mafia, or whatever it is the underworld is called in the Philippines. I have nothing against you either. I simply question your thought process. You have NO FACTS to refute any of the accusations and facts. You simply try to IMPLY "you don't understand us". You have NO true understanding of the TVI Express scam, yet you continue to defend it with opinions. As the expression goes... Opinions are like ***holes... everybody's got one. However, FACTS are facts. Opinions that directly contradict facts are not only worthless, they are LIES.

fahim 5 years ago

If TVI Express is a scam and so called Owner/CEO Tarun Tirka is a fraud person then why is he roaming freely and continuing giving open presentations around the world. Why no authority has initiated any legal action against him and got him arrested. I know many people who had used TVI Express voucher redeemed online for booking with International Hotel Chain and they are all satisfied and happy. Infact some of them have purchased another hotel voucher for their next vacation.

kschang 5 years ago from San Francisco, CA, USA Author

@Fahim --

1) Tarun Trikha was not arrested because TVI Express does NOT operate in that country's jurisdiction. The countries can however, charge locals for promoting the scheme.

2) Ability to buy hotel vouchers in no way proves TVI Express itself is legitimate. It only proves that TVI Express work with legitimate travel seller, such as Travelocity or Gulliver's Travel Associates. And how exactly do you make $10000 by selling vouchers? Hmmm?

3) Furthermore, South Africa's "TVIWealth" team have had members who showed up at hotel and was told there was no hotel booked, or it was booked but unpaid. Search for it.

You have been told only a TINY PART of the story. Perhaps you should study the rest of the issues.

ellen 5 years ago

In TVI express, you have to work if you want to earn money. Build up your team and workout with your board through referral. I guess that's the essence of MLM business. People will earn through network of people.. Those people who think negatively regarding about network marketing, you need to undergo mindsetting for you will never attract people to join and absolutely you will not attract money.. TVI express is earning $1.3 million per day. The company is an affiliate of other online business companies. In fact, TVI express has an airlines itself called royal pacific airways. You need to understand the business and do not wish to join if you dont understand it.

kschang 5 years ago from San Francisco, CA, USA Author

@ellen from Philippines -- there's a couple problems with your claims

1) "you have to work if you want to earn, build up your team through referal"

You just described a PYRAMID SCHEME, because you don't actually SELL anything. DSAP.PH, the MLM professional association of Phillipines has an 8-point test to tell if TVI Express is a pyramid or not. Be honest to yourself... take the test and see if TVI Express is a pyramid:

You can't even tell the difference between a pyramid scheme and network marketing. Network marketing means MARKETING, means SELLING THINGS. TVI Express does NOT sell anything except membership to itself.

4) "TVI Express is earning $1.3 million per day"

You can't prove it. Such a statement is never accompanied by any sort of evidence.

5) "The company [TVI] is an affilicate of other online business companies"

Means nothing. I am affiliated with eBay and Amazon and Google through my blog. Such affiliations are FREE.

6) "TVI Express has an airline called Royal Pacific Airways"

First, it's "Pacific Royale". Second, there is NO PROOF of such ownership or relationship other than some vague statements through Tarun Trikha, who have issued so many documented lies he's no longer credible. The closest "proof" of such a link is ONE article in ONE newspaper of very similar name to the "president" of PT TVI Express Indonesia, Goernani Goenawan, and some hint about "mysterious investor from India". There is no proof of such ownership, or even a link.

What they don't tell you is that Goenawan's company, PT TVI Express Indonesia, just had its business license in Indonesia REVOKED, and government is forming a special fraud task force to investigate it and online fraud like it.

Apparently jhon can't be bothered to post in English his lame excuses but instead need to post in Indonesian (the IP address 182.7.88.68 is Indonesia as well). I'll use Google Translate:

----

TVI Express clup it clear which member or members can stay at the hotel facilities. kept many people already members continue to enjoy pasilitasnya like to stay at 3-5 star hotel. but why still practically fraudulent. if not immediately obvious why fraud kepihak authorities reported .... do a lot of talk on the web. talk show if you were right

---

It is you, jhon, who's way off the mark. You see, you can only prove that some *could* get trips off TVI Express, but you can't prove EVERYONE can get trips off TVI Express. Thus, it is fraud if a significant number do not get any trip.

Furthermore, you can only prove that HALF of business is legal. Is TVI Express even authorized to sell travel in Indonesia? Now that they don't even have SIUP license any more?

And fianally, can you prove the OTHER HALF of the business, about earning income by recruiting people, is legal? That is definitely "money game" and already declared haram by MPU (Islamic Council) of Aceh, Indonesia almost a year ago?

You are pointing at the leg of the elephant and claim it is a tree trunk. You do not see the whole picture (or perhaps, refuse to).

Claiming HALF of business is legal will not help you. Many of your colleagues have already been arrested. Company no longer have business license to operate. Your continued defense of this scam can only be seen as... desperation.

confused girl64 5 years ago

TVI express here in the Philippines had reached the southern part of the country and its booming rapidly. Most members have said that it changed their lives and gave them financial freedom. Others had bought their dream house/lot and luxury cars. And for those who have exited the express board were now receiving residual income monthly.I am not yet a member but i wanted to be because of the travel opportunities they're giving which i dreamed of. How could we say that it is really a scam in fact the members (except for those who didn't work for it)were already receiving the benefits given by the company. And i heard that by October the Phil gov't will be imposing tax to legalized it. Will i join or not? I'm now confused.Thanks and God bless.

kschang 5 years ago from San Francisco, CA, USA Author

@confused -- I would NOT trust ANY information given by TVI Express members that you cannot verify by yourself through trusted sources, such as newspapers, and so on. TVI Express and its members have been documented to release information that are just completely false and misleading.

For example, in Swaziland, Africa, some members have told recruits that TVI Express has "global license". Swaziland government is VERY angry when they found out. Not only there was no such license, company is also illegally operating in Swaziland based on lies.

Indonesia already banned TVI Express and some members have been arrested for fraud. Read my other hub for the references (and then click on the references to verify them for yourself, instead of just believing my word)

TVI Express is well known for "do not search for TVI Express on Internet" advice. They claim it is "negativity". It is REAL INFORMATION and any one who tell you so have MUCH TO HIDE.

kschang 5 years ago from San Francisco, CA, USA Author

@Confused -- another factor for you to consider. This is called "Occam's Razor", fancy name, but simple in concept

which is more likely to happen:

1) TVI Express, outlawed around the world (US, Australia, Hungary, China, Vietnam, South Africa, and more) can be legal in Philippines

or

2) TVI Express recruiters out to recruit you are liars

Which is more likely to be real? Very simple question. Answer truthfully to yourself.

LOL. 5 years ago

believe in what you are saying mr kschang. you don't need to destroy a company just for what? life is a race. is this your job? to destroy a company? then how much is your salary? haha.. every people can decide for their lives, for there future. your a writer bro, not a businessman.. and that's very different! and wait, another question.. do you have a family? i really think you don't have.. base on your attitude.. congratulations! your a great writer but a very closed-minded person.

kschang 5 years ago from San Francisco, CA, USA Author

@LOL -- I report facts about a scam that it and its members would rather not see exposed as it cripples their claims to legitimacy. If you wish to debate the facts, do so.

Insulting me and randomly attributing malice and bitterness to my intentions will not make you believable. It only makes you look stupid, random insults without facts. One wonders what would make you do such a thing...

Or to borrow your style of writing... (sarcasm intended)

Believe what you will, LOL. You don't need to protect a scam just to feed your family. You do have a family yes? You wish to feed them by enriching a scam and make dozens of families poorer, so be it. Do you actually THINK about what you wrote? Are you a THINKER, LOL? Or do you just laugh? I really think you don't think. Your mind is so closed to the idea that "TVI Express is a scam" you react with emotion instead of logic. You need a cult deprogrammer.

ndou s, frm south africa 5 years ago

lol before u can say whatever you think , let me tell you something stop being a fool & follow the leader thi sthing i s workin , iam saying this b/cos i've received my first R108 000 last night & i joined three weeks ago, how's dat? yes i did bring two peolple & they did same thing,every of them already receive R6000,00 EACH. & they are on their way to get 108 000 soon

kschang 5 years ago from San Francisco, CA, USA Author

@ndou s -- then you are a fool, since your local newspapers have pronounced TVI Express a scam since December 2010.

And now you have admitted participating in the scam, in a public forum, I wish you luck. In that third link, the Limpopo Hawks already arrested two back in May 2011. They may arrest more. They're hoping they scared off the rest, but apparently, you're not wise enough to notice.

HUH 5 years ago

I used to work in a network marketing binary system called Quest Net !! but i think this is bull shit.. TVI is a great company although i read alot of thing about it that it is a scam and what ever .. and im gonna be the first in my country to open this company and im sure it will change alot of pplz life so stop talking shit about it because you know nothing !! and i called alot of ppl from so many countries to make sure that they got paid and all of them were pushing me to join because this business changed their lives.. and if they didn't get paid from this company why would they push me to join it when they will not benefit from me ???

kschang 5 years ago from San Francisco, CA, USA Author

@Huh -- The ONLY reason you can cite to support your view (that it's not a scam) is... some people got paid. Sorry, that's not a reason. A pyramid scheme will pay some people... by taking money from all the people who joined.

Thus, your viewpoint is NOT supported by logic, and thus is invalid.

"a lot of ppl from so many countries" got paid? That's like asking a scammer "are you out to scam me?" You won't get a useful answer. It's not neutral information. Not to mention getting some number in eWallet is NOT getting paid. Try cashing that eWallet and see if most of people you talked to actually did (probably much fewer people).

Oh, and I've seen people posing with stacks of cash, a car, and so on. Doesn't really prove anything. The point is NOT that they did (or did not) get paid, the point is the business model itself, recruiting people to get paid, is an illegal pyramid scheme.

Or, in other words, you missed the point entirely.

muses 5 years ago

mr.kschang(hub auther)...

i didn't join this business yet cuz im scared of this business being illegal..and i appreciate u answering all this people with with a satisfied answers..so all i want to know from u mr. why r u against this company??

and one more thing...U R A GREAT WRITER...

kschang 5 years ago from San Francisco, CA, USA Author

@muses -- first, thanks for the compliment. And second, isn't busting a scam, doing good in the world, enough of a reason in itself?

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." -- often mis-attributed to Edmund Burke, Philosopher

corliony 4 years ago

this is getting started in egypt and i saw many people claimed there free trip till now ,

in egypt we did not hear about what u saying but we belive what we see and touch ,

all the procedure u said r right till now but in here we sell a trip before we say it s an account ,and more than this our newspaper did not say that tvi isn't legal till now and please if u r sure of what u r saying about it give me a prove or a link that make me sure from ur word and if it s true i give a word to destroy it all in my country cause i need no fraud or scam in my country after our revolution , wish to hear from u so soon before it s getting bigger

kschang 4 years ago from San Francisco, CA, USA Author

@corliony -- how about... TVI Express member issued a fake fatwa in a real official's name in Saudi Arabia, claiming to allow TVI Express to operate legally, caused an outrage because MLM is against Shariah law?

i spent all my day investigating many teams in my country , i saw people who had the trip . and for the fatwa in here it was for q net (i want to know ur opinion about quest net please ).

i asked leaders why network marketing in egypt may be considered wrong in the religion or wrong for the country and they told me different reason and it s not about tvi cause it s payed here in egyptian money not dollars and you may say in egypt more than 30% bought that package just for trip and for now they are more than 3000 in egypt and no one has said that is spam or i didn't recive the trip & not interrested in busness .

and as i itold before i want u to help me to investigate it in my country cause i can't prove your words in here .

leaders here deal with passport and the only problem that face users in the trip is that the name must be as the passport exactly .

and in Wikipedia the is a different between the pyramid (haram )

and revolving matrix

and for the fraud , i made a friend show me his account and i saw the 83 fraud people or ( terminated people ) and the reason for there termination .

at last , they won the conversation , so please help me if u can really do , and give evidence i can show to people here.

prove ur words to me cause people here recive there money and the trip and i couldn't find a single compliment ,

for ur knowledge i know the leaders in here so tell me how can i prove ur words so i can start the plan .

kschang 4 years ago from San Francisco, CA, USA Author

@corliony -- if the fact that it's illegal in a dozen countries around the world is not enough to convince your friends, then there's nothing else I can do for them. I guess they need to see it outlawed in Egypt itself before they will believe.

The fact that you cannot buy the trip separately, but must always also join and recruit people, proves it is nothing but a money game: every people you recruit contribute to the money you earn. That is haram.

Again, check the news articles I've linked in my other hub. It proves that TVI Express is illegal in Indonesia, China, USA, South Africa, Australia, Namibia, Lesotho, and is under investigation in a dozen more. Did you even read that link where the Saudi official was outraged? It mentions TVI Express by name, how TVI Express falsified the fatwa in Saudi Arabia.

korliony 4 years ago

let's not talk about religion cause everyone say what he need and say the religion say . for example qnet is working on a pyramid , why it s still working all over the world , i believe what i see and in here i just wait to hear any compliment from that company and til now none ,

please write me specific sites or news paper , and for me i asked from a friend in interpol to investigate the name from its side .

so will u help me or just keep saying go there and here cause every link i read in here it mention ur name .

that s all

kschang 4 years ago from San Francisco, CA, USA Author

@c/korliony -- don't need to get into religion vs. ethics debate. Islam is quite clear what is permitted and what isn't, and the rest is up to interpretation, but all countries have Ulama councils that decide on what's legal besides the stuff specifically outlawed in the Koran, yes?

All businesses are "legal" until they are declared illegal, but being illegal stops at the country's border. That is how international scams continue to persist, and how can a scam like TVI Express continue to operate despite being outlawed in a dozen countries.

You have to read it to see the individual links to the articles, but they are there: links to TV Station in USA, Cease and Desist order in USA, declare pyramid in Australia, outlawed in Indonesia, arrest in India, China, and more.

Most links mention my name because I have been tracking this scam since 2009 and I was the only one who CONTINUED to speak out against it. Most others simply quit when it was kicked out of US and promptly forgotten.

cape iris 4 years ago

TVI is not totally a scam for now, at least. I've joined TVI first week of March this year, and in less than two (2) weeks, i've exited from the traveller board and received my commission. So, if someone asked me about TVI, i should tell them "believe first" and join.

kschang 4 years ago from San Francisco, CA, USA Author

@cape iris -- not only getting paid does NOT prove it's legitimate (pyramid schemes are supposed to pay a few people), it makes you an accomplice of the scam. When police crack down on it, the biggest recruiters in the country are the ones going to jail if they can't catch the founder (who's not in the country).

kalasnikovds777@gmil 4 years ago

I kschang has point when he explained about how the pyramid scam operate or what is meant by pyramid scam. This is as simple as; if you sale products that is not a scam and therefore legitimate and legal. TVI is earning thru recruiting and selling hotel discount in 5 star hotel, it is scam. Yes, I believed it is Haram from the Islamic point of view. From Mr. Chang explnation therefore , Qnet, DXN, Amway, Avon and many others are of the same category as legal and legitimate company because they have products to offer in exchange of the new member's money and a promise of financial freedom, if they work hard. The fact is most people especially Filipino don't think whether it is a scam or not as long as they will earned a lot of money. Some people do it by selling drug, robbery, snatching, kidnapping etc., so why not scam business at least it is lesser in degree of immorality.

kschang 4 years ago from San Francisco, CA, USA Author

@kalasnikovds777 -- Amway and other MLMs pay on "retail sales", i.e. sell to customers NOT IN THE COMPANY. Did not Amway rep ask you to switch to their detergent, or buy their vitamins, and so on?

Pyramid schemes sell things INTERNALLY only to members. There is no real customers. All the money just moves within the pyramid itself (from lower level to higher level).

Technically TVI Express is a hybrid scheme, as it has both elements of a Pyramid Scheme (the "matrix" is a classic 1-2-4-8 pyramid known as "airplane game") and Ponzi scheme (all money goes to the company then comes back out).

But we are not really arguing whether it is a scam or not, are we? I think your final sentence really illustrate the point:

"why not scam business at least it is lesser in degree of immorality."

In other words, cheating other people out of their money is not that bad?

Unless you are the one being cheated, of course.

And it is still fraud.

observerlang 4 years ago

I think TVI must be develop to help people not to go to gambling. Lotto is a much greater scam ever. Gambling gives so little chance to win not like TVI that promotes team work to earn money.

kschang 4 years ago from San Francisco, CA, USA Author

@observerlang -- So you agree it's a "vice", thus bad for you, you just don't agree on the degree? There's a difference: (legal) lottery is legal and approved by government. Fraud is ILLEGAL.

zulu 4 years ago

lol you probably wont post this but its funny your zeekrewards post got pulled i told you it would

observers 4 years ago

@kschang - I am getting email from your Zeekler hub but when I click on it - an error page comes up that says its no longer published - what happened?

Hi there , TVI express is very much alive here in the Philippines. A friend of mine wanted to recruit me and tried to entice me with the promise of getting commissions just by word of mouth. This already got me worried. Why? I'm a businesswoman and worked really hard to get to where I am right now. One thing I have learned the hard way is ...there is no short cuts to success. They showed me a Power point presentation that seemed so elementary to me. Showed me AWARDS that TVI Express won, they were surprised that I immediately Googled those "award" bodies. They were clearly Fake Awards that you can buy on the internet for 12,000php or so. They also showed pictures of actors and actresses *joining (I'm not really sure if they were valid pics). It is so clear that they are trying to exploit how we Filipinos are. Here we love telenovelas and our celebrities. I do too. Lastly, I don't hear or read anything about them in the mainstream media, Like Abs-cbn, GMA News, TV 5, Etc. They mentioned that they started in London but there was no clear evidence and when asked who the top Executives were they did not know what to say, they only know the "local" executives. They mentioned they give discounts to hotels based on tarrif rates. My husband and I always travel and TVI Express boasts on membership for discounts with hotels. What they don't know is that my husband is a software developer and build sites for hotels and architects payment solutions for them. He haven't heard or read anything about TVI Express from his clients and affiliates either. We both agreed that there is no real product here because you can always ask the discounts for FREE. Or can buy vouchers or coupons directly from the Hotels site.It is clearly a pyramid scheme in sheep's clothing . I love my country and my people. I understand that most would be enticed with this GET RICH QUICK schemes. We are a third world country, and having been born and raised here, EDUCATION was my savior. My suggestion is very simple. Like in business, do your DUE DILIGENCE, investigate, and ask questions. Ask people who are experts ( before I started my own food business I interviewed successful entrepreneurs, businessmen, experts, ) ...I listened and took down notes. Open your mind to knowledge for Knowledge is a powerful tool. @ Mr. Kschang-- it's good to have people like you. You state down facts, not emotional in answering questions, and comments. Clearly very logical and indeed a very good writer. Most of all, is that you try in your own way to open people's minds before they decide on anything. I find some comments hilarious. They are clearly very emotional, disgruntled and illogical.

kschang 3 years ago from San Francisco, CA, USA Author

People desperate for money and affirmation/approval can often say foolish things. It is much like love and religion: money makes people do stupid things and be blind to the truth.

kschang 3 years ago from San Francisco, CA, USA Author

ANNOUNCEMENT: It seems some people, either trolling or desperate to believe that TVI Express is in the right, is attempting to spam this comment section, implying that I'm getting "paid" to write this article. I am getting paid a few pennies a month for the TVI Express stuff, but they're sure adding to it, thanks!

bakekang 2 years ago

Hello Kschang,

I suggest and strongly recommend to you to be a member of TVI Express first before you waste your time and effort posting about TVI Express. Penetrate first, ok? Thanks for considering my recommendation. Best Regards.

kschang 2 years ago from San Francisco, CA, USA Author

@bakekang -- why would I try something when the owner's already in jail LAST YEAR, and the whole world is after him for the scam? Thanks for sharing your baseless opinion.

Law 2 years ago

Hi KSChang,

I strongly agree with the facts you've provided. There are a lot of people trying to provide false information just to destroy a company with their blogs, but this article and comments are truthful enough to see if TVI is really a legitimate company. Thank you very much for your effort!

MLM industry itself is legitimate for decades, but for company like TVI, it is the culprit for the entire industry. I hope companies like TVI will shut down soon so the image of other legitimate companies will be protected.

Cheers!

kschang 2 years ago from San Francisco, CA, USA Author

TVI had been dead for years except for some trolls who won't admit they'd been tricked all along.